Bad Touch

Bad Touch is a photocopied zine published from Kent, Ohio by Elias Newton. Its focus is mostly on musical criticism and low-brow humor.

The zine started in Akron, Ohio in the Winter of 2004 and has been published erratically ever since. Bad Touch has included comics, record reviews, fiction, homoerotic fanfiction, local gossip, and more. The music articles often elicit a negative reaction. Issue three's article on Cleveland rock band Amps II Eleven prompted the band's bassist, Tony Erba, to send Bad Touch a series of death threats, although no physical action materialized from the threats. The most notable feature of the publication is its consistent offensiveness, often dedicating entire pages to "cum jokes." Newton was once heard to remark, "There's a reason it ain't called 'Good Touch'."